A fire broke out on the sets of Akshay Kumar’s film ‘Kesari’ during the peak of shooting in 2018, destroying it and causing losses worth Rs 8 crore. SFX supervisor Vishal Tyagi said there were no safety measures, and the crew watched helplessly for two hours. No injuries were reported.
Akshay Kumar’s film ‘Kesari’, which depicts the historic 1897 Battle of Saragarhi, included several large-scale war scenes. While filming the climax sequence in April 2018, a massive fire broke out, completely destroying the set.
There were no casualties, but damage was estimated at around Rs 8 crore. Recalling the incident in a recent interview, SFX supervisor Vishal Tyagi said the team could do nothing but watch the fire for about two hours because there were no safety measures in place on the set.
The shooting of ‘Kesari’ lacked safety measures
Speaking to Indian Rush, the VFX supervisor said, “We were shooting Kesari in Hawaii. We had to shoot a big explosion. Initially, we were going to put up a separate wall, but we didn’t have the budgets.
So, we decided to just blow up the wall of the set. After that incident, I learned how to say no in that group, and I never used to say no before. There were no safety measures on set. I told them that we should get the engine and pipes from Mumbai, but they said there were no budgets for it.
When I was fixing the set for the explosion in the evening. Then a foreign film director came to me and said there should be a fire element in this too.
Kesari’s fire becomes a master lesson
Although the fire did not result in any injuries, Tyagi said that the experience became a turning point for him, as it taught him when to reject certain risks. “I didn’t think the wall was made of PV foam and it’s highly flammable,” he recalls. “I didn’t put gasoline, but I did with gas screwdrivers, but one spark made it catch fire. They had no safety measures, and even the fireman had one powder cylinder, which couldn’t even reach heights.”
The entire crew saw the set burning and destroyed for two hours. “There were no casualties because it started burning slowly and the group was out in the open.”
Fire row “Kesari” and support director
Tyagi revealed that after the fire, Dharma Productions, the producer of Kesari, held him responsible for the incident, but director Anurag Singh supported him during the situation. “From that day on, I learned to say no – if you don’t have security, I won’t bomb.
I was not the villain in that incident, but I was blamed for the fire. The Dharma people asked me: “What did you do?” But the director supported me and said that this was not my fault alone.
“After that, everything calmed down and no one said anything to me,” the sound effects expert said.
Details of the cast and sequel of ‘Kesari’.
‘Kesari’ also starred Parineeti Chopra in an important role. The film is directed by Anurag Singh and produced by Karan Johar, Aruna Bhatia, Hiroo Yash Johar and Apoorva Mehta.
Sunir Kheterpal
. The sequel of the film, ‘Kesari Chapter 2: The Untold Story of Jallianwala Bagh’, is released in theaters on April 18, 2025. The film is a historical courtroom drama directed by the debutant.
Karan Singh Tyagi
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